


The Gift Exchange

by PurpleReine



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, New Dream, for a secret santa, gift exchanges, soft material
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28499610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleReine/pseuds/PurpleReine
Summary: It is Christmas Eve at the Fitzherbert's. Before heading out to the yearly Christmas party, Rapunzel and Eugene do their yearly tradition of exchanging their gifts. Modern AU.
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Comments: 7
Kudos: 18





	The Gift Exchange

**Author's Note:**

  * For [forever_minnie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/forever_minnie/gifts).



> Hello, Hello! Happy Belated Holidays and Happy New Years! So, hi! @forever_minnie was my Secret Santa at the FitzFam this year and I just wanted to give her some very soft fluff Christmas content! 
> 
> Also, I wanted to apologize to the lateness. It was supposed to be finished and posted by Christmas, not a day after New Years, but my Winter Blues decided to not just kick in, but hit me even harder this year. Especially with what's been going on in the world. 
> 
> Anyways, Minnie, I hope you like it! Enjoy!

It’s been their little Christmas tradition for the last four years. Ever since they got married, the Fitzherberts would exchange their Christmas gifts before heading out to the Christmas party at either their parents houses. There were times they didn't even come back home after these parties. Whether it was having a few too many drinks, or the parents insisting they spent the night, Rapunzel and Eugene figured that it would be best if they exchanged their own gifts before heading out to said parties. 

Eugene felt a little silly about his gift. Well, more anxious than silly. The delivery itself was silly, but the message was more serious. He had thought about this for a while now and figured this would be the best way, as well as witty, to start the conversation. Sure, they’ve had the conversation a few times before. Once while dating, another during their engagement and about two more times during their marriage. They both decided on the same conclusion every time; when they were both mentally and financially stable for it. 

Eugene can now check off that they are finally financially stable. On his behalf, Eugene felt mentally stable. He just wasn’t sure about Rapunzel. And thanks to that article he came across one day, he was ready for the discussion. As long as he was able to give her the control of the issue, he was ready. 

Rapunzel was finishing getting ready when Eugene headed to the living room where their small Christmas tree was. He was glad they decided on matching Christmas shirts this year instead of the ugly Christmas sweaters. No matter how cold it was out, Eugene would always find himself all hot and sweater in them. These shirts were much comfortable and lighter. 

He grabbed the small stocking he had hidden behind the television console and made sure his gift was properly in place. Once everything was ready, Eugene sat on the couch and waited for his wife. Suddenly, Rapunzel’s Munchkin cat jumped on the couch and purred against Eugene’s hand.

“Hey Pascal,” Eugene rubbed his head, “Merry Christmas Eve. I see Rapunzel gave you a cozy gift, huh?”

He pointed to the knitted cat-sized sweater that Pascal was wearing. Normally, Eugene wasn’t too keen on animals wearing clothes like that, but it has been surprisingly getting freezing cold in Corona. Plus, as much as he loves Pascal, Eugene was getting tired of him trying to get in his pajama shirt at night for warmth.

“Hey there!” Rapunzel’s voice caused Eugene to look up, “I’m ready!”

Suddenly, Eugene felt rather nervous about their gift exchanged. He gave Pascal one last pat on the head before getting up to greet his lovely wife. 

“Hey Sunshine,” he gave her a smirk, “I see Pascal is all ready for bed tonight. When did you have time to knit him that?”

Between Christmas shopping and work, Rapunzel has been busy these last few weeks. Eugene realized that they haven’t really been in sync since about Thanksgiving. Nonetheless, he brought her into his arms and met her lips, which she happily complied. 

“Good thing I haven’t put on my lipstick.” She teased him after pulling away and turned to Pascal, “Oh you know, we were a little slow at work for a few days. Plus whenever I couldn’t sleep at night, I would knit instead. I didn’t want him to be cold tonight in case we spent the night with my parents.”

“Well, he will for sure stay warm tonight, Sweetheart,” Eugene chuckled, “And out of my shirt for that matter.”

Rapunzel laughed and shook her head before grabbing a wrapped gift from under the tree. There were a few more presents under the tree for them to open when they returned from the party, while the ones they were going to take were waiting in the hall along with their coats. 

“You ready to open gifts?” she asked in what Eugene would assume, a nervous tone. 

“Um, yeah,” he replied as he grabbed the stocking as well as a small box.

“Rock, paper scissors and the winner goes first?” Rapunzel asked.

Eugene nodded and took his fist out and Rapunzel followed suit.

“Ready?” he asked before he began, “Rock, Paper, Scissors, Shoot!”

Rapunzel’s fist made the paper while Eugene’s made the scissors. Great, now he’ll have to go first. He brought out the small box first and handed it to her. 

Excitedly, Rapunzel unwrapped the box to find a bracelet with a sun and a moon charms on it.

“Oooo,” she smiled at him, “It’s beautiful! Thank you Eugene.”

“You can add more charms to it,” he explained, “The lady at the store said that these bracelets and charms can tell your story. So I figured you could start with the sun and moon, and we can add more. Especially if life changes were to happen.”

“Life changes?”

Eugene swallowed nervously at her confused expression and brought out the stocking. 

“The bracelet is one gift,” he said before handing her the stocking, “This one is, uh how can I say this? Uh, open it and I can explain.”

“Alright.” Rapunzel took the stocking and seemed to have forgotten about her own nerves. She stuck her hand in the stocking and pulled out a bottle of Mucinex. Okay, what? Surely her allergies haven’t been acting up. They usually do around the beginning of Springtime. 

“Mucinex?” she looked up at him confused, “I’m not sick, at least I don’t think I am?”

“No, no,” Eugene ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath, “So, I came across this article the other day and it got me thinking.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Well, not thinking,” he continued, “I guess I was already thinking about it and this just popped up because that’s what happens nowadays. Plus, it was somewhat viral on some platform.”

“Eugene,” Rapunzel interrupted his rambling, “What are you talking about? Thinking about what?”

He took a deep breath and figured it was now or never. 

“Rapunzel, Sweetheart,” he began, “You know how we talked about the, uh future, and how we wanted to wait? Well, I think we should have that discussion again.”

“Okay,” Rapunzel quietly said and Eugene thought she looked as if she saw a ghost, “What about it? And what does that have to do about Mucinex?”

“The Mucinex was more of a witty way to open the discussion.”

“Alright,” she nodded, putting a pin on the Mucinex, “So we’re having the discussion?”

“Sunshine,” he took her hand and softly kissed it, “I know we talked about waiting until the both of us were not only financially stable, but also mentally stable. Sure, we are currently living in this apartment, but we did discuss that into the New Year we could start looking at houses, right?”

“I supposed.”

“Well,” Eugene continued, “Since we were already thinking of houses, that would mean we’re financially stable. So we can cross that off. Now, mentally, I think I’m there. Which is why I wanted to ask you, where are you in this mentally?”

Before Rapunzel could even open her mouth, Eugene quickly pressed his index finger on her lips. 

“Now, I want you to really think about it,” he said, “Don’t just say you are because I am. If you’re not ready, that’s also good. I just wanted to check in.”

“Eugene,” Rapunzel let out a laugh, “Please, I beg you, explain to me the Mucinex. I can’t get it out of my head. What does that have to do with, you know?”

Eugene let out a laugh and kissed her once. 

“Well, Princess,” he said, “That article I mentioned? Well, it talked about how apparently a lot of women on social media found out that if they take Mucinex, their chances of getting pregnant would be high. Something about it helps loosen something making it easier for the, uh, swimmers to get to their destination.”

“What?” Rapunzel snorted and laughed, “Really?”

“I know,” Eugene sighed and rolled his eyes, “It was just a silly way to start the conversation. I don’t really expect you to actually take some cold medicine. Shoot, I don’t even expect you to have an answer right this moment.”

“Eugene,” she cupped his cheek, “That was actually such a clever way and very on brand of you as well. Listen, yes, we have discussed this various times. And yes, we always decided to wait until it was the right time. It can be scary, especially with our own histories.”

She was right. For some reason, they both shared similar childhood experiences. Eugene’s parents were falsely accused of child abuse, so the state took him away from them for a few years. In those few years, he ended up from foster home to foster home. Until his 16th birthday, in which the court realized that there was never any abuse in the household and immediately reunited Eugene with his parents after six years. The ironic part in all of this, even though he wasn’t abused with his parents, the majority of his foster parents did the abusing. That was something he’d never wish on a person. 

Rapunzel on the other hand, was different, but similar. Around the age of six, Rapunzel was waiting for her mother to pick her up from school when a lady arrived and claimed that her mother sent her for Rapunzel. In order to convince Rapunzel to go with her the lady, Ms. Gothel, told her that her mother was simply picking her up at the airport after his business trip. As well as going to the bakery for some cupcakes to celebrate his homecoming. She ended up kidnapping Rapunzel and took her a few towns over. Since her father was a powerful man, Gothel sent out a letter for ransom. After a week locked in a room, Rapunzel was reunited with her parents thanks to a witness who had seen Gothel take Rapunzel into a building and remembered Rapunzel’s picture.

The young couple had their own share of trauma and therapy over the years. When they got very serious in their relationship, they even went to couple’s therapy as a way to both understand how the other one felt about certain things, should they ever get married. So far, they never kept any secrets or feelings from one another and are always on the same page. 

“Here,” Rapunzel continued as she handed him his own gift, “Maybe this will help out.”

Eugene took the gift from her and gently unwrapped it. He opened the box and inside was a knitted hat and blanket. He stared at the items and tilted his head. 

“A matching hat and blanket for Pascal?” he asked, “I mean, I’m sure he’s already warm enough with the sweater you made him, Princess. But why are you giving me his clothes? Wait, why are you giving me his clothes? Shouldn’t you be giving them to him?”

“Eugene!” Rapunzel interrupted his rambling again, “It’s not for Pascal.”

“Wait,” Eugene paused and the realization hit, “Oh wow! We really are in sync! You’ve also thought about it? Sunshine! This is amazing! Oh man, I like your idea better. I wish I knew how to knit, or at least crochet. Maybe I should’ve just gotten diapers. That would’ve been way easier. And--”

Rapunzel sighed and grabbed his free hand, causing him to be quiet. She gently brought his hand under her shirt and placed it on her stomach. It took a second for Eugene to realize that her stomach wasn’t as flat as it normally was. He felt a very subtle bump in which one can not notice, even if they were to just simply graze her stomach. Once he realized what was really happening, Eugene let out a gasp and gently pressed on her stomach. Rapunzel placed her hand on top of his and watched all the emotions he showed on his face. 

“Rapunzel,” he whispered after a while, “A-are you? I mean, We’re-- It happened?”

She simply nodded and with her free hand, Rapunzel wrapped it around Eugene’s neck and brought him down so their foreheads touched. 

“When did you--,” he continued to whisper as if he was trying not to wake anyone up, “How?”

“I found out Thanksgiving day,” she whispered back and tears began to form, “I didn’t know how to tell you. But then it hit me one night when I couldn’t sleep and Pascal was once again asleep in your shirt. I used his sweater knitting as an excuse to knit the hat and blanket in case you got suspicious.”

She leaned her head away and looked up at him. 

“How do you feel about this?” She asked, “Are you still mentally stable?”

Eugene let out a chuckle and pulled her into his arms.

“Mentally stable? Yes.” He said against her neck, “Scared? Very! Happy? Ecstatic!”

He quickly pulled away to see her face and gently caressed her cheek.

“What about you?” he asked, “How are you doing? How are you feeling?”

“The very same,” her tears began to fall, “And a little sick here and there. But that’s normal according to the doctor.”

“The doctor?”

“I went on Monday after Thanksgiving,” Rapunzel explained, “She confirmed that I am, and also mentioned that I am roughly around seven weeks.”

Eugene quickly got onto his knees and gently pulled the hem of Rapunzel’s shirt up a bit before placing small kisses around her stomach. This caused Rapunzel to giggle at her husband’s excitement. 

“Hi there little Sunbeam,” he said to her stomach, “I’m your dad and I cannot wait to meet you. We’re going to love you so much! Not just us, but Pascal too!”

“We’re having a baby.” Eugene looked up at Rapunzel and gently caressed her stomach before turning to Pascal, “Pascal you hear that? You’re going to have a baby sister or brother!”

“Eugene,” Rapuznel giggled and grabbed his hands, “As much as I enjoy watching you get excited, we have to leave. We’re running late to my parents.”

“Parents!” Eugene grabbed Pascal and held him, “We have to tell our parents the amazing news! You know they’ve been hinting us about it! We need to go tell them! How should we tell them?”

Rapunzel took Pascal back and let the poor cat run away from Eugene’s excitement. 

“Already taken care of,” she explained, “Besides the gifts we already got, I managed to also include a baby hint along with their gift.”

“They’re going to be so happy and excited,” Eugene brought her close to him once again, “I know I am.”

“Me too,” she whispered and kissed him, “Come on, let's head out.”

“Not so fast, Mrs. Fitzherbert.” Eugene picked his wife up bridal style and headed for the door, “You can’t be walking too much in your condition.”

“Eugene!” she squealed, “What about the coats and gifts?”

Upon reaching the doorway, Eugene let Rapunzel down and both put on their coats, scarves and hats. Then without warning, Eugene picked her up again and grabbed the bag of gifts with one hand. 

“I love you.” Eugene kissed her nose, “And I cannot wait for this next chapter.”

“And I love you,” she whispered before placing her hand on her stomach, “We both do.”

“Ready Princess?” he asked as he stepped outside.

“Let’s go share our good news.” 

With that, the door closed causing the Christmas wreath to shake a little and Rapunzel’s giggles were heard in the distance.

**Author's Note:**

> So, were you surprised by the gift exchanges? I should confess that the Mucinex article was what inspired this fic, among other reasons lol 
> 
> I hope you all have an amazing and save New Year! And don't forget to wear your masks and keep your distances! 
> 
> Until next time! 
> 
> You can find me on tumblr @Purplerock11


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